Ozone hole alters Antarctic sea life

THE ozone hole over Antarctica could be having a bigger impact on life in the region than anyone realised. In clear summer skies, lower ozone levels allow significantly more UVB light to reach the ocean and damage DNA.

Now an analysis of east Antarctic waters suggests that higher levels of UVB light can significantly reduce phytoplankton blooms. "If you have a substantial reduction in the amount of plant material, that's going to have all sorts of knock-on effects for the rest of the food web," says Andrew Davidson of the Australian Antarctic Division in Kingston, Tasmania.

Davidson's team studied the marginal ice zone. These regions are estimated to produce between a quarter and two-thirds of all phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean. The team used satellite data to study levels of chlorophyll, an indicator of overall phytoplankton levels, and ozone concentration in five regions during November and December, from 1997 to ...

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